186787: Ruling on giving a banquet when a sports team wins

In our society it has become common for football (soccer) fans to hold banquets and celebrations when their favourite team wins a tournament or cup. What is the ruling on these banquets and what is the ruling on attending them for one who is invited?

Praise be to Allah.

The fatwa on this issue must adopt a middle line between the
basic permissibility of such banquets and taking into account the reality of
the situation and the motives that people have concerning such matters and
the consequences to which they may lead, so as to find the right answer and
the moderate approach that will bring good to people and avoid hardship at
the same time. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation
of the meaning):

“Allah does not want to place you in difficulty, but He
wants to purify you, and to complete His Favour on you that you may be
thankful”

[al-Maa’idah 5:6].

By examining this matter and the motives and consequences of
holding banquets and celebrations for the fans of sports teams we will find
many mistakes and things that are contrary to sharee‘ah, or at the least
there are many bad habits, including the following:

1.

Wasting money on things that are of no benefit. Allah, may He
be glorified and exalted, will ask us about this blessing and His many
blessings. He will ask us about our wealth, from where it was acquired and
on what it was spent. Ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
Wastefulness means spending inappropriately. Narrated by at-Tabaraani in
al-Mu‘jam al-Kabeer, 9/206. We do not think that any of those who give
these banquets claim that they serve a purpose or are done for an
appropriate reason; rather they know that they are extravagance and excess,
and they are a reason to waste one’s life in causes that are of no use. See
the answer to question no. 137954

2.

These banquets fill people’s hearts with hateful partisanship
and they create resentment in the fans’ hearts against one another, so they
increase division amongst people, and increase them in weakness and decline.
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“and do not dispute (with one another) lest you lose
courage and your strength depart”

[al-Anfaal 8:46].

3.

As for being a waste of time and sapping the mental and
physical energy of those who follow sports teams, this is something that
fills one with regret and sorrow. We are expecting our ummah to rise up and
play a leading role in civilization and play an eminent role in carrying the
beacon of guidance, but when we see these practices we realise that our dawn
is still far off and that our society has not yet reached the level required
to achieve true revival; it will never reach that level until all the energy
of the youth is focused on constructive efforts. Our backwardness in
relation to other nations requires us to increase the time we put into our
efforts and to focus all our energy in a constructive manner on all fronts.

We do not say that this applies to all fans and we do not say
that all the things they do are haraam; rather there are things that are
contrary to Islam that we are afraid they will fall into and that their
carelessness may lead them to unknown consequences. If we pause and think
about what has been happening, that is sufficient to realise how much time
has been wasted in irrelevant matters. The Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: “No people attend a gathering in which Allah is not
remembered and they do not send blessings upon their Prophet, but it will be
loss and regret for them; if He wills He will punish them and if He wills He
will forgive them.”

Narrated by at-Tirmidhi in as-Sunan, no. 3380. He
included it in a chapter entitled: Chapter on people who sit and do not
remember Allah. Following the report he said: This is a hasan hadeeth. It
was narrated via more than one isnaad from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be
pleased with him) from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him). End quote.

Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh,
no. 2274

As Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say,
“The worst of food is the food of a (wedding) feast to which the rich are
invited and the poor are ignored,” (narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5177; Muslim,
1432), it is more apt to say that the worst of food is that to which people
are invited for reasons of hateful partisanship and illusory joy. The
fuqaha’ stated that it is makrooh to attend banquets given by people for the
purpose of showing off and pride. See Nihaayat al-Muhtaaj, 6/370. It
says in Kashshaaf al-Qinaa‘ (5/166): Ibn al-Jawzi did not allow
accepting the invitation of an evildoer or one who showed off by holding
this banquet. The same applies if it involves any laughing at evildoing or
lying, because that constitutes approval of sin. It also applies if he knows
that some evildoers will attend that banquet, if they are going to speak of
haraam things, in which case the invitation involves something haraam, and
if they are going to speak of makrooh things, then it involves something
makrooh. End quote.

To sum up: we think that it is makrooh to hold such banquets
and it is also makrooh to attend them. On our website we have previously
published a number of fatwas that cover the topic of supporting sports teams
and the bad practices and habits involved. Please see the following
questions: 75644,
82718,
84291,
22636 and
102150.